THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT TOOK PART IN THE 2009/10  DREAM TEAM. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN NEXT SEASON. STARTS 2ND WEEK OF AUGUST SO THERE'S AN 8 WEEK BREAK FROM IT FOR NOW... THANKS...

2009/10 PREVIEW

Well what a season it should be!  First of all a very warm welcome to many new managers who have come aboard for the season long ride, in the biggest non transfer competition in Cornwall....possibly the South West?!  

The league is unique in the fact that transfers are not allowed at any time.....making it a tough comp to win due to the fact if you lose players to other countries, or to injury, then you have no choice but to sit it out and pray they will return as soon as possible....or in most cases in the past...smack your head up against a solid brick wall. Plenty of former managers [ including champions] have also returned to stake their claim to the throne.

Only 4 different managers have won in the 7 years of the competition so far, and this year is the biggest it has ever been with a record 43 entries and the biggest prize kitty ever of £1500....with the winner taking home £500...in cash......in June 2010. Everything is run for you...you will receive email updates regularly through the season...as well as plenty of witty and piss taking reports, as teams rise and drop up and down the league. Also note that the top 10 get prize money this season.

See below on how to win the spot prizes...which also adds a bit of interest if your team is not doing so well. If your team has a bad year...no need to get disheartened, we hope to see you back next year for another go.

Which brings me onto the question..... Who will win this years 2009/10 dream team? 

It's a difficult question to even start to unravel. Ok start with your tried and tested managers. Lee Slaughter....he's a revelation in this competition. 3 times a winner...and that's even when he looks soundly beaten off [ 2005/6] he comes from the clouds and wins by the slightest of margins. That's a true champion.

Only Ben Harris from St Austell, Cornwall [ now no longer taking part ] managed to stop Lee's run of success in the comp during the end of the 2006/7 season. Lee had an off year last time, but he apparently took a whole week of work prior to the start of this seasons deadline to study his teams until he was seeing stars. He's that keen to recapture this crown.

Newly crowned dream team champion Ricko Barker is another who has been highly placed in all of the years of the dream team. Last season he peaked at long last....but winning back to back titles with the strength of the field this time around, will take something extraordinary.

Double champ from the early days Joff Walkey, has been in fine form in the 2 previous years after some weak efforts, after his 2 wins finished in 2003/4.

Jess and James Slaughter should go well, while former runners up Derek Slaughter [2006] and Neil Slaughter [ 2007] are respected, despite having struggled to last the pace in the past couple of seasons. Runner up Ian Dunn [ 2003, 2004 ] has not been seen since 2 lacklustre efforts in 2005 and 2006.

Simons Higgins is the only other manager with good form to his name after a great debut season last year, which saw him lead the pack for many weeks. Better things surely await him.

Dennis Mark, Del Ferguson, Leigh Farrar, Scott Walkey and  Ray Barlow are all dream team regulars who have underperformed until now, and so they will be hoping to really test the former champions this season, but know they face a huge challenge from the new managers.

The May family could be the ones to watch from the newbie's. Matt May could be the one to cause the top boys most problems but Roger has plenty of knowledge of football, and he will be in the mix. All the William Hill staff from The St Austell shop are aboard for the new season, and they stand a good chance of making their mark on the contest. Don't dismiss any of them.

Others to consider could be Daley Turner and his girlfriend Georgi, while Chris Robins looks to improve on his 15th place from last season, along with Greg Plummer from King's Lynn, who got bogged down outside of the top 20 last season with the likes of Welsh Dragon Lee Thomas [ that's one guy you never write off ].

There are interesting returns from James Triggs and kick boxing expert Kyle Prophet, who have decided after 3 years, to re-enter the contest. Will be interesting to see if they make an impact after such a long break. Richard West from Plymouth will hope he can improve, while new manager Malcolm Brown will be going mental if his team wins....but like the unknown Stig team, he faces a stiff task ahead.

So I hope that clears that up ........easy to pick the winner isn't it?